bread & butter (rebuke the cosmos)

The phrase "bread and butter" puzzled us one day. I then proceeded, out of my particular brand of insatiable curiosity, to quiz all within earshot, and no one knew its origin.

Sure, they knew it had to be said at certain times, but as to where the ritual stemmed from was anyone's best guess.

I did some searching online. Here's a wholesale quotation from one source that I found:

Bread Superstitions

-Whomever eats the last piece of bread has to kiss the cook
-It is bad luck to turn a loaf of bread upside down or cut an unbaked loaf
-If you burn bread it means your sweetheart is angry with you
-To prevent ghosts from calling, leave bread and coffee under a house
-Eating bread baked by a woman whose maiden name is the same as her married name is a cure for many illnesses
-If all the bread is eaten, the next day will be good
-If you put a piece of bread in a baby's cradle, it will keep away disease
-Murphy's Law dictates that buttered bread will always land buttered-side down
-Cutting bread in an uneven manner is a sign that you have been telling lies
-A loaf of bread should never be turned upside down after a slice has been cut from it
-When a couple is walking down the street holding hands and an obstacle comes between them, say "bread and butter" to keep the union until the hands meet again


Also, from an online source:

SUPERSTITIONS

-Handshake - Originally a gesture to show that one did not have a weapon. It has always been done with the right hand because it is considered the lucky hand.

-Evil Eye - It is believed that one can control others with a glance or different sort of look. It can kill, blight, maim, cripple, paralyze, etc. In the 1930s, a New York man earned his living by renting his evil eye to prize-fight managers. He would sit at ringside and stare at the opposing fighter. Their ignorance and superstitions often stunned them enough to set them up for a knock-out.

-Easter Eggs - These symbols stem from a rite for the “hatching” of spring.

-Charm Bracelet - This item stems from the worship of carved deities. e.g. totem poles

-Bread and Butter - This counter-spell is used to deny a separation by naming things that belong or stick together.


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Interesting.

I like the latter explanation, that it is a counter-spell. When the universe denies a union by forcing separation upon a pair, then it becomes necessary to rebuke the cosmos.

We belong together. Nothing should come between the two of us.

So I say "Bread and butter".